Somewhere I Belong
by deadorworse
Summary: Laura was sent to live with her uncle, Bobby Singer when she was 9 years old. Here she grew up with the Winchesters, who became her best friends. 15 years later she has quit hunting and has a chance encounter with the two brothers. Begins in Season 1 and will hopefully carry on through the rest of the seasons. Dean/OFC. Rated M for future chapters.
1. Chapter 1: Of All the Gin Joints

**AN: This is the first fanfiction I've written in years and my first ever Supernatural fic, so bear with me if it sucks at first. This was originally going to be a Supernatural and True Blood / Sookie Stackhouse novels crossover but I changed my mind as it mostly revolves around Supernatural and its characters but I've left in references to Merlotte's Bar and the town of Bon Temps because that's where I picture Laura living and working at the beginning of the story.**

**This chapter is set in season one, sometime between 'Shadow' and 'Hell House'.**

** ~Chapter 1~**

**_ Of All the Gin Joints in All of Louisiana..._**

Laura Singer collected the empty glasses and pitcher a pack of rednecks had just left at their table. She was glad to see the back of them. The fattest of them had tried to grab her ass and they didn't even tip well. She left the tray of glasses behind the bar and turned around to go take more orders. They were pretty busy for lunch hour which was unusual but a good sign – business hadn't been too good at Merlotte's recently, just like almost ever other business in the country. That was when she spotted them, sitting in the new girl, Macy's section. Macy headed over to take their order but Laura grabbed her by the shoulder. "Hey Macy, you mind if I take that table?"

"No way, they're hot!" Macy giggled, her high ponytail bouncing.

"Oh no, it's not like that, they're family friends of mine and I haven't seen them in years. Please?"

"Sure," Macy caved, not caring enough to put up a fight and probably just glad to have one less table to cover.

Laura walked over to the table as if they were just two random guys. "Welcome to Merlotte's, what can I getcha?"

Sam looked up from his menu and smiled when he saw her face. "No way!"

Then Dean looked up, taking a little longer to react. "Laura?" he said weakly after a pause.

"What the hell are you guys doing here?" she laughed.

"We just finished up a hunt outside of town, we were just gonna grab some lunch before we moved on," Sam explained.

"You're hunting again?" Laura started to ask before she heard the cook call her from the kitchen. "Sorry guys, we're really busy today. What'll you have?"

Sam ordered a grilled chicken salad and Dean finally opened his mouth to order a cheeseburger and a beer.

When Laura returned with their food she said quickly, "I'd love to catch up with the two of you tonight if you think you could stick around? I know another bar, just outside of town that we could go to."

"That'd be great," Dean said immediately, taking out a pen to scribble his cell number on a napkin. He handed it to Laura. "Call me when your shift is over."

Laura couldn't help but smile a little as she tucked the napkin into her pocket and went back to work. She was excited to catch up with the Winchester boys. She had practically grown up with them at her uncle Bobby's house and they were her best friends back when she was still hunting. She wondered why Sam was hunting again, the last she heard he was doing very well at Stanford and seemed to be getting pretty serious with his girlfriend there.

When Laura got home that evening she called Dean straight away.

"Yeah?" he answered, his voice deep and rough.

"Hey, it's Laura. Does it suit you if we meet up in about an hour?"

"Should do." She heard him move the phone from his ear to check with Sam. He came back to their call and asked, "is it okay if it's just me and you? Sammy's not feeling up to it tonight."

"Aw that sucks, I really wanted to catch up with him, it's been so long," she said, genuinely disappointed. "But yeah, that's fine." She gave him the name and address of the bar and said goodbye. She hung up feeling a little excited that she would be alone with Dean but she didn't let herself get carried away. Sure they used to have something but that was a million years ago, and he seemed to be the least enthusiastic of the pair about seeing Laura again earlier on. She took a quick shower before she threw on her favorite jeans and a black Led Zeppelin t-shirt and put on a little makeup.

When she arrived at the bar she had chosen Dean was already sitting up at the counter. He flashed her that grin that always hit her right below her bellybutton and was infamous for dropping the panties of slutty diner waitresses all over the country. Ugh, _that smile_. Laura had noticed how much Sam had changed physically earlier on. He was no longer the scrawny little nerd she had grown up with and was now a full grown (maybe even over-grown) man. Dean hadn't changed as much in the last five or six years since she had seen him but she noticed his arms and chest had definitely filled out a bit and he was maybe a little taller too. Laura headed over to him and couldn't help but think about some of the things they had done when they were last together... She felt herself blush and reminded herself that they were grown ups now. None of that would ever happen again. "Hey," she smiled.

He nodded in acknowledgment.

"Wanna get a table?" she asked. They moved over to a table at the back of the bar and sat opposite each other.

"What are you drinking?" he asked.

"Beer, I don't care what kind."

Dean left for a few minutes and returned with a pitcher for them to share. "So, what are _you _doing here?" he asked as he sat back down.

"I quit hunting."

"Seriously? I thought you were gonna start working alone after you graduated."

"Yeah that was the plan.. But I didn't want to hunt. I wanted a normal life. Work, get married, have a couple kids, die in my bed when I'm 80 years old." She shrugged. "I didn't think I was cut out for the life."

"Wanted? Do you still want a normal life?"

"I dunno, since I've moved here I feel like I don't fit in. Don't get me wrong, I love it here and I've made some great friends, I'm just not sure if I belong here." Dean nodded as he sipped his beer. "Speaking of trying to live normal, why's Sam hunting again?"

Dean took a minute to think before answering her. "Our dad's missing. Sam left college to help me find him."

"He just left? Really?" That was weird. Sam had confided in Laura before he left for Stanford. She knew how much it meant to him to get out of the life and to live a normal one. The most important decision of his life was to go to college and now he was just leaving?

"Well there's more to it. His girlfriend was killed."

Laura waited for more information but Dean didn't elaborate so she didn't ask. "Well, how have you been?" she smiled, trying to lighten the mood a bit. So much for a joyful reunion.

"Okay. Same as always I guess except for my dad going MIA."

Awesome. Didn't look like he was ready to change the topic. "Yeah that's rough, I wouldn't worry too much about it Dean, John's a great hunter and he can sure as hell take care of himself. He's probably just wrapped up in some case he thinks is too dangerous for you to get involved in."

"That's exactly why I should be worried! If he thinks a job is too dangerous for me to get involved in, he obviously needs some help with it." Dean drained his glass and refilled it. "So why move to some no name little town in Louisiana?"

Finally, a more comfortable topic. "I grew up in a small town in Louisiana until... I moved in with Bobby. Not this one in particular obviously. I guess I just didn't know where else to go. I'm not a city person." She skipped over the painful details that Dean was familiar with anyway. Laura's father was killed in a motorcycle accident when she was eight years old. Her mother became depressed and turned to cheap liquor for comfort. Less than a year later she hit Laura while in a drunken rage but that was both the first and last time she would hurt her daughter. Luckily her 4th grade teacher Ms Holloway had noticed the bruise on Laura's cheek and called social services.

She spent about a month in foster care until they managed to track down her estranged uncle whom her father hadn't even known existed, and she was sent to live with him. It was a tough year and she still missed her dad but she considered herself lucky – most hunters had much more traumatizing histories. Laura almost felt guilty for being so sensitive about hers.

"Would you like to start hunting again?" Dean asked her.

"Maybe. I feel like I'm gonna go crazy sometimes, stuck in this town, waiting tables for a living." She laughed and shook her head. "Then again, I don't think I could put up with your life either – living between your car and crappy motel rooms, eating bad diner food every day. Not to mention the broken bones, DIY sutures and the high death rate. And I always _hated _having to dig up graves. It's gross. And exhausting."

"Oh and waiting on rednecks in a local bar is _so _much more glamorous," he laughed. He looked at the empty pitcher and back up at Laura, raising an eyebrow. "Wanna do some shots?"

"I'm good, I have to be up early tomorrow anyway, I should probably call it a night..."

"Do you wanna go get some food or something?"

"No really, I'm beat, I should go home." Laura got up to leave but hesitated. She took out a pen from her purse and grabbed Dean's hand. "Here's my number, call me if you guys need any help looking for your dad." She gave him one last smile and walked out.

Laura woke up around ten o'clock the next morning, she had lied to Dean about needing to be up early. She got out of bed and went about her normal routine but something felt different... Wrong. She couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. She brought in the newspaper from her porch and sat down with her morning cup of coffee and a bowl of dry cereal. She started to read through the newspaper and realized she was looking out for anything that seemed suspicious. Anything that would be a possible hunt. _Oh crap._ That's what the feeling was – 'hunter's itch', as she used to call it. The feeling that you were facing a definite hunt or that you were about to find one. She now had a few options to consider. She could ignore the feeling and get on with her everyday life until she eventually went mad and treated everyone with suspicion, believing anyone could be some form of supernatural creature. She could find a local job and pray that working just one last case would scratch the itch. Most recklessly, but most effectively, she could break all her ties to Bon Temps, quit her job at Merlotte's and start hunting again full time. This was the type of decision that took time and a lot of thinking to make.

Instead of thinking, she found herself calling Dean. "Laura?" he answered quickly.

"Have you guys left town yet?"

"We were just about to."

"Where's your next job?"

"East Texas, haunted house, standard vengeful spirit."

"Can I come?"

"What?" Dean voice went up a semitone in surprise.

"I have this sudden urge to hunt again after seeing you two, that's not too far from here so I just thought I could help out and maybe get this urge out of my system."

There was a long, heavy silence at his end of the line. Then there was some arguing between him and Sam (it sounded like Dean was the one arguing against her joining them). "Okay," he sighed. "It'd be fun to work with you one last time." He sure didn't sound all that enthusiastic, but Laura jumped at the opportunity.

"Give me the name of your motel and I'll be there as soon as I can."

"No wait, you'll need to ride with us so we'll come pick you up. What's your address?"

She gave him directions to her house and ran upstairs to pack. She called her boss who was usually generous when people asked to take time off, and luckily he owed Laura a favor from a few months back. He let her take two weeks off as long as she promised to work extra hours when she got back. Laura was way too excited about this considering how much she had gone through to ensure she would never have to hunt again. When she hear the loud roar of the engine of Dean's beautiful Impala outside she ran downstairs with a ridiculous grin on her face. Hopefully this one hunt would scratch her itch. Hopefully she would have a terrible time, and free of the rose tinted glasses of nostalgia, she would never want to hunt again. Hopefully. But probably not.

**AN: I hope this chapter doesn't seemed too rushed, I just can't wait to really get into the story! I know Laura's background is really rushed through here but I'll come back to it in more detail, especially about how she never knew Bobby before she was sent to live with him, and about actually living with him and growing up with the Winchesters as well. **

**Please review if you liked this chapter or have any suggestions or constructive criticism. I'm feeling a bit unsure of myself 'cause I haven't written fiction in a while, so please give me your opinions! I need a bit of critique and (hopefully) reassurance :) **

**Thanks for reading! x**


	2. Chapter 2: Hell House

~**Chapter 2~**

_**Hell House**_

Laura was sitting in the back of the Impala reading her novel and subconsciously humming along to the Blue Oyster Cult song that was playing in the background. Dean was trying to entertain himself in the front seat by sticking a plastic spoon in his sleeping brother's mouth.

"Hey, Laura!" he hissed.

She looked up from her book to see a picture of Sam and the spoon on Dean's phone. He laughed as she rolled her eyes and returned to her book. The music got louder and Dean began to sing along, "fire of unknown origin, took my baby away..." Dean's singing – now _that_ made her laugh. Sam woke up with a jump, his head moving from side to side in confusion. He discovered the spoon hanging from his lips and removed it.

"Ha ha, very funny."

Dean chuckled. "Sorry, not a lot of scenery here in East Texas, kinda gotta make your own."

"Man, we're not kids anymore Dean! We're not going to start that crap up again."

"Start what up?"

"That prank stuff. It's stupid, and it always escalates."

"What's the matter Sammy, scared you're going to get a little Nair in your shampoo again, huh?" Dean teased him.

"All right. Just remember, you started it."

"Bring it on baldy!"

Laura shook her head, trying to stay invisible to the boys. What the hell had she gotten herself into?

"Where are we anyway?" Sam asked.

"A few hours outside of Richardson. Gimme the low down again?"

Laura closed her book and leaned forward now that they were talking business. "All right, about a month or two ago this group of kids goes poking around this local haunted house," Sam read.

"Haunted by what?" Dean asked.

"Apparently, a misogynistic spirit. Legend goes, it takes girls and strings them up in the rafters. Anyway, this group of kids see this dead girl hanging in the cellar."

"Anybody ID the corpse?"

"Well that's the thing. By the time the cops got there the body was gone. So cops are saying the kids were just yanking chains."

"Maybe the cops are right," Dean suggested.

"Maybe, but I read a couple of the kids first hand accounts. They seemed pretty sincere."

"Where did you read these accounts?"

"Well, I knew we were going to be passing through Texas, so last night I surfed some local paranormal websites. And I found one." Sam admitted.

"And what's it called?"

"...Hellhoundslair . com"

"Let me guess, streaming live out of mom's basement."

"Yeah, probably," Sam grinned.

"Yeah. Most of those websites wouldn't know a ghost if it bit 'em in the persqueeter."

"Look," Sam started, in a more serious tone. "We let dad take off. Which was a mistake, by the way. And now we don't know where the hell he is and in the meantime we gotta find ourselves something to hunt. There's no harm in checking this out."

"Wait," Laura interrupted. "What do you mean you '_let dad take off_'? I thought your dad was missing."

Dean threw Sam a worried glance. He turned his gaze back to the road and thought through what he would say before answering. "He was missing," he said finally. "We met up with him last month on a hunt, but he took off afterward and wouldn't let us come help him."

"So why did you tell me he was still missing Dean? You had me worried!"

"Because – he still sort of is. We don't know where he is now. And we know he's after a pretty serious son of a bitch so there's a good reason to be worried."

"What is it?"

"A demon."

Laura waited for him to elaborate but he didn't so she asked, "what _kind_ of demon?"

"A bad one," he said, putting an end to the conversation. Laura flung herself against her seat and returned to her book.

After getting settled at their motel that evening the three of them set out to interview the kids who had been to the supposedly haunted house. Laura was disappointed that none of their facts matched up. Maybe she wouldn't get to have one last hunt. The next day they went to interview the last of the kids, Craig, who told them the same story of the 'hell house' that his cousin had told him. Apparently, the house was haunted by a farmer named Mordechai Murdoch who had hanged his six daughters and then himself back in the '30s.

Laura and the Winchesters went back to their motel to quickly change before heading off to check out the house. All they found there were some sigils painted on the walls (including one that both Dean and Laura recognized but Sam surprisingly didn't), old power lines that messed with their EMF meter and a couple of wannabe ghost hunters called Ed Zeddmore and Harry Spangler. Yep, they were lucky enough to meet the geniuses behind hellhoundslair . com.

Since the house didn't legitimize the job any more, Sam and Laura headed to the library to do some research on Mordechai Murdoch. They couldn't find anything on a Mordechai Murdoch, only a Martin Murdoch who had (seemingly) never killed anyone. Dean went to the police station to check the if there was anyone on the missing persons list that matched the vague description they had of the girl.

"No matching missing persons, it's like she never existed," he told them when they met up outside the library. "Dude come on, we did our digging, this one's a bust all right. For all we know those Hell Hound boys made up the whole thing."

"Yeah all right," Sam sighed. Laura didn't say anything. She had a feeling there was more to this, but she was probably just being over suspicious because she was so eager for a hunt.

"I say we find ourselves a bar and some beers and leave the legend to the locals," Dean said as he went to get in the car. Sam leaned down to look in the window and Laura went to let herself in the back door. As soon as Dean turned his key in the ignition Latin music burst out of the speakers and the window wipers began dancing to it wildly. He jumped back with a look of disgust on his face. "Whoa! What the..." He fumbled to turn everything off as Sam and Laura got in the car.

Sam laughed and proudly pointed at himself. Laura managed to stop laughing at the look on Dean's face just long enough to say, "I swear, I had nothing to do with this! ...But nice work Sam."

Dean scowled at his brother. "That's all you got? Nice. That is bush league."

That night the trio headed out the local dive bar. While Dean was up at the bar buying drinks, Laura got a chance to talk to Sam alone. She never got to really catch up with him, and she also thought she'd take the opportunity to squeeze some information about John out of him. Luckily the bar was pretty busy, meaning she could ease into the conversation slowly.

"So Sam, what made you leave Stanford?"

"Dean needed help looking for dad so..."

"Really, that's all it took, big brother comes looking for help and you just drop everything to go with him? After everything you sacrificed to get there Sam. I just... I can't believe you'd give it all up!" she laughed as if they were talking about something trivial.

"Well, you don't know what my dad is hunting. And other stuff happened too. This year has just been a mess Laura, seriously."

"I'm sorry, I know you've been through a lot this year. Dean told me about your girlfriend – I shouldn't have even brought up Stanford." She mentally slapped herself upside the head for being so insensitive (as usual).

"But you can't say much! I thought you had cut off all your ties and were never going to hunt again," he said to turn the focus onto Laura instead.

"I know, I keep telling myself I just need to work one job to get this feeling out of my system but I dunno... Now that this turned out to be a bust what am I supposed to do? Keep looking until I find a real hunt? And even when I do find a real hunt I'm scared that it won't be enough."

Sam nodded. "I'm sure you'll figure it all out in the end."

"So what is your dad hunting?" Laura smiled mischievously, no way was she going to let that go.

Sam paused for a minute before checking that his brother was still busy flirting with the bartender and turning back to Laura. He hunched over toward her and lowered his voice. "You cannot tell Dean I told you this. He thinks he's got a lead on the thing that killed our mother."

"And he won't let you two help him?" she asked, a little to loud for Sam judging by the look on his face. She lowered her voice and said, "John is a tough son of a bitch but you can't let him do this alone Sam, no hunter can face a demon that powerful alone." She sat back and smiled at Dean who was approaching the table to let Sam know he was within earshot.

"What's up Sammy? You got that constipated look on your face again."

"Uh, I was just thinking."

They drank beer, played pool and talked crap for a couple hours before heading back to the motel for a good night's sleep.

Laura woke up in darkness to banging and the sound of Dean's voice. "Get up and get dressed, we're leaving in ten minutes. We might have an actual job here." The sun was rising when they got to the hell house, just in time to see a girl's body being pulled out of it on a stretcher. "What happened?" Dean asked one of the men who had gathered at the scene.

"A coupla cops say the girl hung herself in the house."

"Suicide?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. She was a straight A student with a full ride to UT too. It just don't make sense." The man walked away.

"Whaddaya think?" Sam asked.

"I think maybe we missed something."

"We'll go back to check out the house again tonight," Dean decided over breakfast. Him and Sam were having big cholesterol filled plates of meat and fried eggs and Laura had an almost as unhealthy but sweeter plate of pancakes drowned in maple syrup.

"Awesome, I knew this was a real case!" Laura said through a mouthful of pancake.

"Yeah. Maybe." Dean said before turning his attention to their waitress who was passing by their table. He smiled at her face and then her ass as she walked by.

Laura swallowed her food. "Dean, please don't eye-fuck our waitress, some of us are trying to eat here, and it's just too early for that crap."

Sam laughed at the incredulous look on Dean's face. He recomposed himself to ask, "what, are you jealous?" with a smirk.

Laura laughed out loud. "Honey, you wish I was jealous," she said in an obviously-joking tone.

They arrived at the house that night to find a police car parked outside it. They crouched behind a bush watching the two cops who were guarding the place. "What the hell are we gonna do now?" Laura asked.

Dean peeked out from the bushes at the sound of whispering. "I don't believe it." Sam and Laura leaned over to see what was happening. Harry and Ed, professional ghost hunters, were stumbled towards the house in ridiculous matching 'Ghostbusters'-esque get-ups. "I got an idea." Dean cupped a hand to his mouth and rose up slightly. "Who ya gonna call!" he shouted.

"What, huh?" Ed and Harry spun around in confusion.

"Hey you!" a cop hollered at them. "Freeze! Get back here!" The two cops chased after them. Sam, Dean and Laura laughed under their breath as they ran towards the house. Once they were in they headed straight for the basement. Dean picked up a jar nasty looking red stuff.

"Hey, Sam. I dare you to take a swig of this."

"What the hell would I do that for?"

"...I double dare you."

Sam shook his head and moved on and Laura caught Dean grinning to himself out of the corner of her eye. Something rattled in the corner of the room – their spines straightened and their heads turned abruptly. They moved to the cabinet where the sound had come from. Dean nodded to Sam to open the door. Dean's face was covered in disgust as he shuffled his feet around the floor. "Argh, I hate rats!" Perfect, rats. _Still _nothing supernatural.

"You'd rather it was a ghost?" Sam asked.

"Yes," he said curtly. And then Laura saw one. A real ghost, finally! Mordechai Murdoch was about to swing an ax down on Sam's head. Sam and Dean noticed at the same time and all three of them swung round to give the bastard a face full of rock salt. Which... didn't work?

"What the hell kind of spirit is immune to rock salt?" Sam asked voicing everyone's thoughts.

"I dunno. Come on. Come on!" Mordechai began whipping the ax around, knocking down shelves and smashing jars everywhere.

"Get out of here!" Sam yelled as he struggled with the spirit. He ducked by the ghost quickly to sprint out of the house with Laura and Dean. Outside they found Harry and Ed headed towards the porch with a camera and night vision goggles. The three hunters shouted at them to run but they froze at the sight of Mordechai walking to the front door.

"Sweet Lord..." Ed mumbled.

"...of the rings! Run!" Harry spluttered.

Back at the motel Sam and Laura did some more research while Dean sat on his bed doodling. "What the hell is this symbol? It's bugging the hell out of me. This whole damn job's bugging me. I thought the legend says Mordechai only goes after chicks."

"It does."

"All right, well that explains why it went after you two but why me?"

"Hilarious," Sam rolled his eyes. "It also says he hung himself but did you see those slit wrists?"

"And the ax... I thought he liked to hang his victims too." Laura added, biting her bottom lip in concentration as she went over all the information they had for the hundredth time.

"Wait a minute... Someone added a new post to the Hell Hounds site. 'They say Mordechai Murdoch was really a satanist who chopped up his victims with an ax before slitting his own wrists. Now he's imprisoned in the house for eternity.' Where the hell is all this going?"

Dean sat up straight suddenly. "I don't know but I think I just figured out where it all started."

Dean explained on the way to the record store the next day that the symbol was really just the logo for Blue Oyster Cult which explained why he and Laura had recognized it but Sam hadn't and also linked that kid Craig to the house somehow. At the store Craig admitted that it was a prank he came up with with his cousin. They painted the symbols, spread the story and even strung his cousin, Dana up in the rafters to scare Craig's friends. The story continued to spread and eventually ended up on the Hell Hounds site where Craig said it just "took on a life of its own". If it had started as a story that meant it couldn't be a real spirit which explained why Mordechai's method of killing had changed – ghost's were usually strict and traditional about that sort of thing. But if it wasn't a ghost, what the hell was it?

Sam suggested over a coffee break (which he mostly spent squirming in his seat and scratching himself thanks to the itching powder Dean had put in his clothes) that it was a Tulpa – a type of thought form that came to life when enough people believed in it and thought about it while focusing on a Tibetan spirit sigil, that just so happened to have been painted on a wall of the hell house. The website allowed thousands of people to see this sigil and think about the story of Mordechai while they looked at it. So basically, Old Tibetan symbol, plus nerds with nothing better to do, equals ax wielding Tulpa.

They made a quick trip to a copy store before driving over to Ed and Harry's trailer (at least they weren't living with their mothers). There Dean handed them a fake death certificate saying that Mordechai had really shot himself which meant he was terrified of .45 pistols and if you shot him with one loaded with wrought iron rounds it would even kill him. Ed and Harry scurried back to their trailer to add this to their website just as Dean had planned.

They went to a local diner for dinner (where Sam coated Dean's beer bottle in superglue while he was in the bathroom) and then returned to the hell house when the new story had had enough time to circulate. Just a few minutes after they got there Harry and Ed showed up too. And then Mordechai joined the party. Harry and Ed started screaming, Mordechai started swinging his ax around and the rest started shooting. The Tulpa vanished only to reappear a moment later.

"Hey, didn't you guys post that bullshit story we gave you?" Dean asked.

"Of course we did," Ed started.

"But then our server crashed," Harry finished for him. _They finish each other's sentences, how cute_ Laura thought sarcastically.

"So these guns don't work," Dean realized out loud.

"Yeah."

"Great. Sam, Laura, any ideas?"

Just then Harry and Ed bolted for the front door to find it was locked. Mordechai stalked up to them. "Jesus Mary and Joseph."

"The power of Christ compels you, the power of Christ compels you, THE POWER OF CHRIST COMPELS YOU!" Ed cried.

"Hey! Come and get it you ugly son of a bitch!" Sam roared from behind them. Mordechai ran towards him and they fought until he had Sam pinned against the wall.

"Get out of here, now." Laura ordered Harry and Ed. She turned to shoot three rounds into Mordechai. The handle of his ax was against Sam's throat and he used to slowly lift him off the ground, taking no notice of the bullets.

"Dean..." he gasped. Laura saw Dean splashing keroscene all over the floor of the next room. She shot at Mordechai a couple more times, hoping to distract him and finally Sam was released just in time for Dean to come running out with a lighter ready in his hand.

"Mordechai can't leave the house, we can't kill him? We improvise." He threw the lighter into the next room and they ran from the house with the heat of the flames burning their backs.

They stood outside watching the house burn to the ground. "Kinda makes you wonder," Sam said. "Of all the things we've hunted, how many existed just because people believed in them?"

The next day they went to see Ed and Harry before they left town. It turned out that Ed and Harry were leaving too. They bragged about getting a movie deal and how they might be the ones to write it _and_ create the RPG (role playing game, of course). After they hopped in their car to make their way to 'la-la land' Sam spoke up. "I have a confession to make."

"What's that?"

"I, uh... I was the one who called them and told them I was a producer."

Dean laughed. "Yeah well I'm the one who put the dead fish in their back seat."

"Well I was the one who cut their brake lines." They stopped laughing to stare at Laura with matching horrified expressions. "I'm kidding!" she said raising her hands before letting out a burst of laughter at the look on their faces.

Sam and Dean called a truce and they all climbed into the Impala to move on.

"So, Louisiana?" Dean asked from the driver's seat.

"Yeah," Laura sighed. "Back to reality."

When they reached Laura's house she collected her bags from the trunk and they walked her to her porch. "Stay in touch, y'hear? If you ever need help with anything... Like another hunt or your dad or whatever, don't hesitate to call. And let me know when you catch up with him again." She squeezed Sam and managed to grab Dean into a hug too even though he was quick to dodge her arms, then she said goodbye to the Winchesters, a little reluctantly. She watched the Impala tear off down the road before letting herself in the front door. She flung her bags into a corner and flopped down into her favorite armchair.

What the hell was she supposed to do now?

**AN: I have to be honest, this chapter was a pain in the ass to write! I hope it wasn't too boring to read... Anyway, this is the only chapter that will totally focus on an episode (except for a few significant ones). I thought this would be a relatively simple one to write but oh was I wrong! Seriously I even had to find the transcript for this episode online. Okay, enough excuses, I promise the next few chapters are much better ;) Please review to let me know if it wasn't as bad as I think it is, or if it really is that bad you can just tell me what you'd like to see in future chapters 'cause I'll take all suggestions into consideration.**

**Thanks for reading! x**


	3. Chapter 3: Home Sweet Home

** ~Chapter 3~**

** _Home Sweet Home_**

Laura's body worked diligently. She carried empty and full glasses back and forth, counted change and smiled brightly at customers. But her mind was busy hunting spirits, demons and various other monsters. She was grateful that the bar was busy that night because any time she found herself idle her hands would start to shake and a scream would build up in her throat and try to force its way out. One hunt was not enough to scratch the itch. Deep down she knew it wouldn't be but it still sucked to know for sure. So what was she supposed to do now?

She considered some new options: She could call up Sam and Dean and ask if she could hunt with them for a little while, she could call her uncle Bobby, apologize for ignoring his calls for the past year and a half or she could find a few local jobs and work alone. The last option made the most sense – she could work cases inbetween her hours at the bar which meant she could maintain a stable income and she could stay at home most of the time if she didn't work any jobs outside the state. But Laura had never hunted alone before so that option was also the scariest one. She considered herself to be independent, strong and resourceful but she always had the luxury of knowing someone was there to back her up during a hunt. Not to mention, she was long out of practice (not counting that one Tulpa thing), so if she was ever going to fly solo, now was not the time to start.

But if she went with either of the other two options she would have to quit her job and leave what had become her hometown. Sure, she never truly fit in, and it wasn't like she was building a career but still... The last two times she had reinvented her life it hadn't been exactly easy to adjust. As she took off her apron and got ready to drive home in her piece-of-crap truck Bobby had given her for her 16th birthday she came to a (sort of) decision. There was no way she was calling up the Winchesters. It wasn't her place to do that, Texas had been a one time thing, and she was sure they didn't want a girl hanging around them 24/7. Also, spending all her time around the elder of the Winchester brothers would be an especially bad idea. She told herself that everything between them was in the past and was long dead, but she remembered that little pang of jealousy she felt when he was checking out their waitress at breakfast one morning, and that little pang of _ughnn_ she felt whenever he smiled at her. So maybe she did still feel something for him...

But could she really go back to Bobby? After refusing to ever hunt again, after pitching such a fit about moving out straight after her high school graduation? She hadn't seen him in almost six years and she hadn't even spoken to him in the past year and a half after she cut him off for no good reason. Yes, Laura Singer had really been a bitch to her uncle who had, after all, sacrificed _so much _for her. He took her in when no one else would, he gave her a home, became a father figure for her and taught her everything she knew about hunting, cars and hell, life in general.

Laura pulled into her driveway and bit her lip, trying to repress the ball of guilt that had curled up in her stomach. She went inside and found the bottle of Jack Daniel's she kept in her kitchen she mixed it with some with coke and ice and sat down to watch a crappy sitcom marathon. She had too much to think about and couldn't sleep so it wasn't long before the night became a blur of laugh tracks, JD and coke, JD from the bottle as the night progressed, and eventually infomercials. She woke up in her armchair to the sound of another fucking laugh track, to a different sitcom this time and the smell of alcohol on her breath. She had drank half the bottle. _What the fuck? _she thought. _Did I just get drunk alone and sit up watching bad TV all night?_ She got up to turn off the TV and put the bottle away. She eyed the bags she still hadn't unpacked in the corner of the room. All of her practical clothes were in them – jeans, plain shirts, a jacket and an extra pair of boots – and some weapons – a few knives, handguns, one shotgun and whatever ammunition she had. Everything she needed as a hunter.

It was funny, she had a closet full of nice clothes, high heels and accessories and a whole house full of other stuff – throw pillows, flowers, vintage furniture (no real antiques obviously) – but everything from her old life fit neatly into an old duffel bag and a backpack. And that was when she made up her mind. Bon Temps was full of luxuries – friends, weddings, baby showers, _normality_ – but it lacked what she really needed – family, danger and a sense of purpose. She brought her bags upstairs and packed them full for the much longer journey she was about to embark on. She took one last look at her house before locking up and starting her journey home.

Laura arrived at Bobby's the next day around lunch time. She had to give herself a few minutes before getting out of her pickup and walking up to the front door. She cursed herself for not calling first but maybe the face to face reunion was a better idea as she had convinced herself on the way – this way Bobby would just be happy to see her, alive and would forget to yell at her for not calling. Yeah, because Bobby was _always_ in a good mood. Her fingers were tapping out a wild beat on her thighs while she waited by the front door. She raised a fist and knocked quickly three times before she could change her mind. _There's still time to run away..._ she thought just before he opened the door. "Laura?"

"Hey, what's up?" she asked casually.

"Where the hell have you been?" _Hell hath no fury like a Singer scorned._

"Louisiana. But you already knew that. Oh and Texas for a little while, on a hunt. So yeah, that's the kind really, why I'm here I mean, I want to start hunting again. I quit my job and basically ran away so I was wondering if I could stay here for a while and help you out?" she babbled.

Bobby furrowed his brow as he processed everything she had just said, wondering how women seemed to be able to speak faster than men. Probably because they always had more to say. "You know you're always welcome here."

Laura took a deep breath and nodded. "Thank you."

Laura left her bags upstairs in her old bedroom before heading to the kitchen where Bobby had a cold beer waiting for her. "Thanks," she muttered as she picked it up.

"So why are you here? Slow it down this time, if you don't mind."

"Um, I met up with Sam and Dean a couple weeks ago-"

"Winchester?"

She nodded. "It was crazy, seeing them again after all these years and it got me all nostalgic. I wanted to hunt again but at first I thought it was just because you know how when you start thinking about the past you seem to forget all the bad crap and just remember the good? But they let me help them out with their next hunt and I loved it, I felt like I was doing what I'm _meant_ to do. So when I went back to my 'normal' life afterward I realized that I couldn't stand it." She smiled and leaned back against the counter top.

Bobby didn't look so relaxed. "Laura, you _got out_. Do you realize how many hunters wish they could be normal? And you had the chance. Do you really want to do this or are you just gonna help me out for a month before you change your mind and go skipping back to Stepford?"

"I have to do this Bobby. I wanted to be normal but I don't think I physically can be. I used to be good at this and I just want to feel like I'm actually making a difference again, like I'm doing something more important than serving drinks! I'm an adult and I can make my own decisions – I'm hunting again whether you like it or not so all you get a say in is if I can work with you."

He nodded. "All right then. Let's get to work."

Laura soon realized that helping Bobby wouldn't be like it used to be. He seemed to be working less jobs of his own and spending more time stuck in his house answering phones. Cops would call and he'd pretend to be FBI to cover for some hunter who roused suspicion, hunters would call for help – some asking Bobby to come out and work a job with them, others just looking for information because they were too dumb or lazy to do any research themselves – and others would call to ask for refuge for themselves or their children. They saw some action (a vengeful spirit haunting one of their neighbors, a vampire nest in Montana that a lone hunter needed help taking down) but not as much as Laura would have liked. But staying with Bobby had its perks. It was comfortable – the likes of the Winchesters were constantly on the road, moving from motel to motel so it was a luxury to stay in one place for so long, to have a home.

Laura was just getting settled in, even starting to consider finding herself a day job at the local diner or something. That was when the Winchester brothers showed up on their doorstep.

**AN: Sorry this chapter is a little shorter than the others (and uneventful). The next chapter takes place during the season finale of the first season and it's going to be very dramatic and exciting... ;) I can't wait for this story to really kick off! Thanks to everyone who added me or 'Somewhere I Belong' to their alerts / favorites and special thanks to the few people who took the time to review. I'd love to get some feedback from the rest of you, it's lovely to hear people's opinions on the story and it motivates me to write more too.**

**See you next week, thanks for reading! x**


	4. Chapter 4: Demon of the Present

**~Chapter 4~**

** _Demon of the Present, Demon of the Past_**

Laura was on her laptop in the kitchen researching local urban legends to kill time when there was a loud knock on the door. Bobby got up from his seat to see who it was and she followed him. He pulled the front door open to the Winchester brothers who were wearing matching expressions of worry and fear. There was a moment of silence between the four hunters – no one was really sure who should be the first to speak up. Laura smiled slightly and broke the tension with a simple "Nice to see you two again so soon." Dean took the opportunity to explain their presence, telling them how a demon was holding their father hostage and they were afraid the demons would come for them next so they needed a safe place to stay for a while.

"Sure, come on in," Bobby welcomed them before heading into the library for something. Laura, Dean and Sam followed him. He handed Dean a flask.

"What is this, holy water?"

"That one is. This is whiskey," he said before taking a swig from the second flask that he was still holding then passed it to Dean.

"Bobby thanks. Thanks for everything. To tell you the truth, I wasn't sure we should come."

"Nonsense, your daddy needs help."

"And I told you to call me if you got into any trouble," Laura added. "Speaking of, you guys didn't even know I was here so how come I didn't get a call?" She placed her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow at Dean.

"Sorry Laura, we didn't wanna drag you into this crap again. I see you've already dragged yourself in though." He turned to Bobby. "Well last time we saw you, I mean, you did threaten to blast me and my dad full of buckshot. Cocked the shotgun and everything."

"Yeah well I had my reasons..." he glanced over at Laura. "And what can I say? John just has that effect on people."

"Yeah I guess he does."

"None of that matters now, all that matters is that you get him back."

Sam looked up from the dusty book he already had his head buried in. "Bobby, this book... I've never seen anything like it."

"Key of Solomon?" he asked as he went to perch on the table in front of Sam. "It's the real deal alright."

"And these uh, these protective circles, they really work?"

"Hell yeah, you get a demon in one they're trapped, powerless. It's like a Satanic roach motel."

"Man knows his stuff," Dean said.

"Sure does," Laura smiled softly.

"I'll tell ya something else too. This is some serious crap you boys stepped in."

"Oh yeah? How's that?" Sam asked nervously.

"Normal year I hear of say, three demonic possessions. Maybe four, tops. This year I heard of twenty-seven possessions. So far. You get what I'm saying? More and more demons are walking among us. A lot more."

"Do you know why?"

"No but I know it's something big. Storm's coming, and you boys, your daddy – you are smack in the middle of it." Sam and Dean exchanged a concerned look.

Laura's head snapped up from her feet at the sound of a dog barking. "Rumsfeld." She followed Bobby to the window as the barking stopped with a whine. "What is it?" she asked him. Through the window they saw that Rumsfeld was gone, his chain swinging and broken.

"Something's wrong," he said, turning to Sam and Dean. Just as the words left his mouth the door was kicked open to reveal a girl with short blond hair. She sauntered over to the Winchesters.

"No more crap, okay?" she said. Dean unscrewed the cap of the flask containing the holy water as he started towards her. Before he could splash some in the bitch's face she knocked him back into a pile of books across the room. Sam stepped in front of Laura and Bobby, putting himself between them and the demon. "I want the Colt Sam – the real Colt – right now."

Sam lead Laura and Bobby across the room slowly, luring the demon towards them. "We don't have it on us. We buried it."

"Didn't I say 'no more crap'? I swear – after everything I heard about you Winchesters I gotta tell you, I'm a little underwhelmed. First Johnny tries to pawn off a fake gun and then he leaves the real gun with you two chuckleheads. Lackluster, men. I mean, did you really think I wouldn't find you?"

Dean had gotten up from the floor behind her. "Actually, we were counting on it." He glanced up at the ceiling and she followed his gaze to the devil's trap above her head. "Gotcha."

After they grilled the demon – Meg – for information, Sam exorcised it even though they knew the girl it was possessing would most likely die afterward. The demon admitted that John was still alive but they still didn't know where he was. Laura didn't think they would get anything from the girl, she was even surprised to see her slowly raise her head and choke out the words "Thank you."

"Shh, shh, just take it easy, all right?" Sam told her.

"Come on let's get her down." Dean said before he and Sam lifted the girl from the chair. Meg called out in pain and Laura winced at the sound of her bones crunching as they lowered her to the floor.

"Sorry, sorry. I got you. I got you. It's okay. It's okay," Sam comforted her.

"A year," she wheezed.

"What?" he asked.

"It's been a year."

"Shh, just take it easy."

"I've been awake for some of it. I couldn't move my own body. The things I did... It's a nightmare." Laura took Meg's hand somewhat awkwardly – she wasn't too good with comforting people but after all the girl had been through she figured she could at least muster up a little compassion.

"Was it telling us the truth about our dad?" Dean asked.

"Dean." Sam shot his brother a stern look.

"We need to know."

"Yes. But it wants... you to know... that... they want you to come for him."

"If dad's still alive none of that matters."

Bobby returned with a blanket and a glass of water. Dean helped her to drink while the others covered her with the blanket.

"Where is the demon we're looking for?" Sam asked.

"Not there. Other ones. Awful ones."

"Where are they keeping our dad?" Dean pushed.

"By the river. Sunrise."

"'Sunrise'? What does that mean? What does that mean?"

Laura felt Meg's already weak grip on her hand loosen completely. She was dead.

"You better hurry up and beat it," Bobby said. "Before the paramedics get here."

"What are you gonna tell them?" Dean asked.

"You think you guys invented lying to the cops? We'll figure something out." He passed that dusty old book, the Key of Solomon, to Sam. "Here, take this. You might need it."

"Thanks."

"Thanks... for everything," Dean added. "Be careful all right?"

"You just go and find your dad. And when you do, bring him around, would ya? I won't even try to shoot him this time."

Laura followed Sam and Dean out of the house. She grabbed Dean's arm before they could reach the Impala. "Dean. Let me come with you. You need all the help you can get."

"Laura... This is family business. We appreciate the offer but we need to take care of this one ourselves. You and Bobby have helped enough."

Laura hesitated before nodding. "But only if you promise to call me when you find your dad and let me know you're all okay."

"Sure," Dean grinned. "I promise." He let out a noise of surprise when Laura wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his shirt. He hugged her back awkwardly. Laura held the embrace for a little longer than she intended to, breathing in the smell of leather, gunpowder and pure Dean.

"Be careful," she smiled as they eventually separated. She gave the brothers a wave as they drove off to find their father.

Laura spent most of that night tossing and turning in her bed, having flashbacks of her and Dean in their teenage years – that first night when she was just fourteen in the back of the Impala, the weekend of her 16th birthday in that motel, the very last time by the river right before he told her they had to stop because they were 'getting too old for this'. She heard Bobby's voice ringing through her head, warning her that he was trouble, and too old for her too. She pictured Sam, two years younger than her, helping her with her algebra homework. Laura rolled out of bed and tore through her room for the old pack of cigarettes she used to hide there. She found them under a false bottom in one of the drawers, along with an empty bottle of Jim Beam and an old photograph of her father when he was young, about twenty. Finding the hidden whiskey and cigarettes only increased her nostalgia but the photograph added a little sorrow to the mix. She took it out and left it in one of her bags so it wouldn't be left behind again. Laura headed outside with the beaten up pack of Malboro.

She sat on the hood of a rusty old car outside and lit one up. She quit smoking almost two years ago and this had been her first slip up. The fact that her old feelings for Dean were starting to creep back up on her was the least worrying thing on her mind. Sam and Dean had no idea what they were dealing with. The events of the day made it clear that they had had very little experience with demons and the one that they were probably up against (the one that killed their mother) was one serious son of a bitch. And if John was seriously injured or even... worse, it would be all up to those two idiots to take it down. Laura put out the smoke and went back inside to try get some sleep. _They'll be fine, _she assured herself. _And there's nothing you can do to help them now. Just go to bed and next thing you know they'll be calling you to tell you that John is fine and they finally killed the demon._

The next morning she woke up to the sound of her phone ringing, just as she had expected. "Hello?"

"Laura." It was Sam, but he didn't sound too good. "There was an accident. I'm fine and my dad seems to be doing okay but Dean's in a coma."

"Holy shit. What hospital? I'm meeting you there." She starting getting dressed as Sam gave her the details. "Okay, on my way."

She passed Bobby in the kitchen on her way out. He eyed up the nervous expression on her face and the duffel bag over her shoulder. "I have to go," she explained. "They're in the hospital, I'll be back in a few days." She ran outside and started up her truck before he could argue. "I'll call you if I need anything!"

**AN: I was originally going to upload the next chapter and this one as one chapter but it took me so long to get this much typed up that I figured it would be better to upload them separately. I apologise for taking so long to update - I'm travelling all this month so I don't know when I can get to a computer again to finish off Chapter 5 and get that up here too. **

**Please review if you're enjoying this story or have any concrit / suggestions - any form of feedback (once it's positive) seriously means so much to me and motivates me to write more and update regularly.**

**Thanks for reading! x **


	5. Chapter 5: In My Time of Dying

**~Chapter 5~**

_**In My Time of Dying**_

Laura was just about to pull out of the driveway when her phone started ringing. She rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically as she picked it up. "Yeah?"

"Hey, it's me again, have you left yet?"

"I was just about to."

"Well we need a favor. Somebody needs to get the Impala before anyone goes to empty out the trunk, could you or Bobby take care of it?"

"I'll ask Bobby. Does she need to be towed?"

"Yeah. Listen, I have a list to give Bobby from my dad so if you rode together I could meet you at the junkyard and bring you to the hospital from there."

"Yeah that sounds okay. I'll go get Bobby. See you there."

Laura took note of Sam's visible injuries – nothing too bad, just a few cuts and bruises – before pulling him into a tight hug. "I hope you don't have any broken ribs," she grinned as she released him.

"I don't from the accident but I might need another x-ray after that," he laughed. He filled Laura and Bobby in with the details – Sam was as healthy as ever. John was out for a while but he woke up just over an hour ago and seemed fine. Dean was still comatose. The doctor mentioned something about cerebral edema and said that he might not wake up, that he was lucky to still be alive. When they found the Impala Laura felt her heart drop into her stomach with a heavy thud. Not just because it was terrible to see such a beautiful car in such bad condition, but the damage made the accident seem real all of a sudden.

"Oh man, Dean is gonna be pissed," said Sam.

"Look Sam. This... this just ain't worth a tow. I say we empty the trunk, sell the rest for scrap," said Bobby.

"No. Dean would kill me if we did that. When he gets better he's gonna want to fix this."

"There's nothing to fix - the frame's a pretzel, and the engine's ruined. There's barely any parts worth salvaging."

"Listen to me, Bobby, if there's only one working part, that's enough. We're not just going to give up on..." he trailed off.

"Sam's right. If anyone can fix her, Dean can. And I don't want to us if we sold his car for scrap," Laura smiled halfheartedly.

"Okay," Bobby said in a softer tone. "You got it."

Sam took a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Bobby. "Here, uh, dad asked for you to get this stuff for him."

Bobby frowned as he read the list. Laura tried to peek over his shoulder but she couldn't quite make out what was written on it. "What's John want with this?"

"Protection from the demon." Bobby looked at him skeptically. "What?"

"Nothing it's just uh..."

"Bobby. What's going on?"

"This stuff isn't used for protection from a demon. It's used to summon one."

Sam was silent on the drive back to the hospital. "Dean's gonna be okay," Laura said, more for her own benefit than Sam's. "He's one of those people who just... He's one of those people who seem invincible, you know? Like your dad too. Nothing can kill them. He'll be okay," she repeated.

Sam nodded. "Those doctor's don't know what we do. We'll find something." After that they returned to the silence. Sam and Laura knew each other well enough and long enough that they could sit in a comfortable silence together and just enjoy each other's company like only the best of friends can, but this was not one of those times. The silence left them to their thoughts, which were of the worst possible outcome – the most likely outcome.

When they got to the hospital Sam showed Laura to Dean's room. There were machines and tubes everywhere and it all scared her more than any monster or demon ever could. But her poker face that had taken years to perfect stayed strong. "I have to go see my dad, I'll be back in a little while."

Laura nodded without looking at him. After Sam left she took a seat beside the bed. "Your car got totaled. You better wake up soon so you can fix her." She cleared her throat. "Um... Listen Dean I feel like an idiot here, you probably can't even hear me. I guess this is just supposed to comfort me? Well it's not working. I should have just stayed at Bobby's. I mean, I wanted to be here for you but it's not like I can change anything just by being here. And seeing you like this... It scares the crap out of me. It reminds me of seeing my dad in hospital. At least there's less blood here... And the machines are still turned on..." She took his hand in hers and squeezed it gently. "Please wake up, Dean." She slammed her eyes shut. "Come on..."

Her eyes shot back open at the sound of the machines beeping quickly, clearing indicating something was wrong. She sprung up and ran to the door. "Hey! We need a doctor in here!" She was pushed out to the hallway by the doctors and nurses that came running in. She saw Sam sprinting towards her from further up the hall.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know!" She something wet trickle down her cheeks and her face turned red when she realized they were tears. She stood behind Sam as they watched the doctors shock Dean so he wouldn't see her cry. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up and Sam looked back at her. He felt something too.

"We have a pulse, we're back into sinus rhythm," said one of the nurses as the beeping on the monitor returned to it's steady pace. A relieved sigh escaped Laura's mouth.

When the doctors and nurses had cleared out Sam turned to Laura. "Did you feel that too?"

"Yeah."

Sam brought Laura to John's room when they were sure Dean was okay. "Hey John," she smiled widely at him. "It's great to see you, I hope you're okay."

"I'm fine thanks, it's nice to see you too. Is Dean okay?"

"Yeah, but while we were there... We both felt something," Sam told him.

"What do you mean you 'felt something'?"

"I mean it felt like, like Dean. Like he was there, just out of eye shot or something."

"I just felt weird," Laura said. "Kind of like when you're alone but you feel like someone else is in the room or someone's watching you."

"I don't know if it's my psychic thing or what... But do you think it's even possible? I mean, do you think his spirit could be around?"

"Anything's possible."

"Well there's one way to find out," Sam said as he went to leave.

"Where are you going?"

"I gotta pick something up. I'll be back."

"Wait Sam. I promise I won't hunt this demon. Not until we know Dean's okay."

Sam nodded at his father and left, Laura following him out.

Laura looked skeptically at the paper bag on her lap as they drove back to the hospital. "You really think this is gonna work?"

"You got any better ideas?"

"Okay then," she nodded. She had been itching to ask Sam about this 'psychic thing' every since they left John's room but she was making herself wait until this was all over, they had enough to worry about at the moment.

"Hey," Sam said to Dean as they walked into his room. "We think maybe you're around. And if you are, don't make fun of me for this, but um, there's one way we can talk." He pulled the 'Mystical Talking Board' out of the bag as Laura shut the door and pulled down the blinds. He sat at the end of the bed and set the board out on the floor. Laura knelt down beside him. "Dean? Dean are you here?"

Laura struggled not to smirk at him. "This is ridiculous." Her breath caught as the planchette moved to the word 'yes'.

Sam laughed. "It's good to hear from you man. It hasn't been the same without you Dean." He frowned as the planchette started to move again. "Dean, what? H... U... Hunt? What, hunting? Are you hunting?"

"Yes," the board told them.

"Dean, it's in the hospital, what you're hunting? Do you know what it is?"

"Yes."  
"What is it?"

They watched the board and Laura read out each letter slowly. "R... E... A... P..."

"A reaper," they said together.

"Dean... Is it after you?" Sam asked.

Again the board told them, "yes."

"If it's here naturally, there's no way to stop it. Man. You're um..." He rubbed his bottom lip. "No. No no no, there's gotta be a way." He stood up and began pacing.

"There has to be some sort of spell or something..."

"There's gotta be a way. Dad'll know what to do." They returned to John's room to find it empty. "Dad..."

"This can't be good," Laura frowned. Sam found John's journal and they headed back to Dean's room.

"Hey, so dad wasn't in his room. But I got dad's journal so, who knows? Maybe there's something here." Laura stood behind Sam's shoulder and watched him flick through the journal until he came to a page titled 'Reapers'.

There was nothing of any use to them in the journal and there didn't seem to be anything they could do at that time so Laura left Sam alone with his big brother for a bit while she went to the diner across from the hospital in search of something decent to eat. She returned just in time to see Dean wake with a gasp, as if from a nightmare. He was choking on the tube in his throat.

Sam's eyes widened. "Dean."

"Help! We need help in here!" Laura yelled down the hall before entering the room and abandoning their dinner on an empty chair. A nurse came in to remove the tube from Dean's throat and check his vitals. She told them everything looked good. He was going to be okay. Laura wrapped her arms around Dean's neck in the best hug she could muster, considering he was lying down and she was standing over him. She wanted to say 'thank God' but stayed silent to make sure she wouldn't burst into tears all over his shoulder. He told them he didn't remember anything so Sam filled him in with everything they knew. After that they insisted he get some rest but it was really just an excuse for them to collapse into the two visitors chairs and conk out, since neither of them had gotten any sleep during this whole mess.

The doctor woke all three of them up the next morning when he arrived to check Dean's condition. "I can't explain it," he told them. "The edema's vanished, the internal contusions are healed. Your vitals are good. You have some kind of angel watching over you."

"Thanks, doc," Dean said somewhat uneasily. He waited until the doctor left to ask Sam, "So you said a reaper was after me?"

"Yeah."

"How'd I ditch it?"

"You got me. Dean, you really don't remember anything?"

"No. Except this pit in my stomach... Sam, something's wrong."

There was a knock on the door and John walked in. "How you feeling, dude?"

"Fine, I guess. I'm alive."

"That's all that matters."

Sam looked at him accusingly. "Where were you last night?"

"I had some things to take care of."

"Well that's specific."

"Come on, Sam," Dean broke in.

"Did you go after the demon?"

"No."

"You know, why don't I believe you right now?"

"Can we not fight?" John pleaded. "You know, half the time we're fighting, I don't know what we're fighting about. We're just butting heads. Sammy, I've, I've made some mistakes. But I've always done the best I could. I just don't want to fight anymore, okay?"

"Dad are you all right?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm just a little tired. Hey, guys, would you, uh, would you mind getting me a cup of caffeine?"

"Yeah. Yeah sure," Sam said. Laura nodded and followed Sam out to leave John with his eldest son. She gave him a morose look as they left. The gears were turning in her head, connecting all the events of the past day – the supplies to summon the demon, Dean's overnight, miraculous recovery and that look on John's face, the way he sounded when he spoke to Sam. But the biggest sign was probably his reluctance to argue with Sam. He made a deal. Laura just hoped he got himself a good one.

They passed John's room on the way back to Dean's, where they expected him to be. But he was sprawled across the floor of his own room. "Dad?" Sam let the cup of coffee fall to the floor, splashing everywhere. He ran to his father and yelled out for help. Laura ran past the room and down to Dean's.

"Dean! It's your dad, come on!"

The three of them stood outside and watched as the doctors tried to resuscitate John. "Come on, come on," Dean whispered.

"Okay that's it everybody," said one of the doctors. "I'll call it. Time of death: 10:41 am."

**AN: So I'm not sure whether I should write a chapter about the week the brothers spent in Bobby's before 'Everybody Loves a Clown' or not. It would probably be a short one but I think it could be interesting so let me know what you think! Feedback motivates me to write more and makes me feel loved so please review if you enjoyed this chapter or have any suggestions / constructive criticism. :-)**

**Thanks for reading! x**


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